


Happy new year

by MossyFlossy



Series: Life Outside the Library [1]
Category: The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I dont know what else there is to it, It is very fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 23:20:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17672057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MossyFlossy/pseuds/MossyFlossy
Summary: It isn't how he celebrated growing up, but new things aren't always bad, and as long as he has Irene, it couldn't be bad.





	Happy new year

Irene took her coat off and unpinned her hat, letting Vale’s housekeeper take them from her, half listening to the idle chatter, but she was tired and not paying the slightest bit of attention. She headed up the stairs with a quick wish that the house keeper have a good day. She tapped on the door before pushing it open. 

Vale looked up from his experiment, but only for long enough to greet her. Kai had draped himself across the couch, one arm tucked behind his head, the other hand holding a book. He gave her a small smile, but he looked as tired as she felt. She took the arm chair, so that he didn’t have to sit up, and tucked her legs up underneath her skirt. She smoothed her skirts out before making herself comfortable. 

“How was work?” He asked once he had reached the end of the chapter that he was on, Irene was content to wait for him to finish, he was always patient for her.  
“Tiring. I think I have been up for nearly twenty-four hours at this point.” She said with a shrug. “I have gone longer without sleep, but I would really rather not.” She normally would have just gone straight to bed, but it was nearing dinner time and she was as hungry as she was sleep deprived. “Came by to see if you wanted to go and get something to eat, preferably before I doze off.” Kai reached for his book mark and then checked his watch. 

He lithely swung himself to his feet.  
“Why not.” He said with a shrug. “I could eat. Vale? Actually, have you even eaten today?”  
“Do not remember.” Vale said, reaching for pen and paper to jot down a couple of notes from whatever he was doing. “What time is it?”  
“Half past eight, in the evening.”  
“Well I know that it isn’t the morning.” He said dryly. “Enjoy yourselves, I have work to do.” Irene and Kai shared a look, it wouldn’t be the first time they would have dragged him away from his work because ‘god damnit Vale, humans need to eat sometimes’; neither of them had the energy to argue with him, so instead they grabbed their things and left, Kai offering Irene his arm. 

“Why haven’t you been sleeping?” Irene asked once they were in a cab and it was trundling along down the road, into central London. Kai sighed and looked out the window. She reached over to touch his wrist. He looked down at her hand, before taking it, linking their fingers together.  
“Weird dreams.” He said after a moment. “Nothing too bad, but they keep waking me up.”  
“Dreams? Not…”  
“No. I haven’t been having nightmares again. Not for a while.” He said, shaking his head. “Why haven’t you been sleeping?” Well, turnabout was fair play after all.  
“I spent last night trying not to fall out of a tree.”  
“Do I want to know?” He remarked.  
“I was hiding.”  
“I had gathered that much.”  
“Look, there were dogs, a bear, four humans and a copy of King Lear. And I really wanted that book.” He laughed and tightened his grip on her hand for a second, lightly squeezing her fingers. “It wasn’t a tragedy. I have never come across that before. I really, really wanted that book. Coppelia did too.” 

It was bitterly cold and there was a fine rain streaking down from thick clouds. Irene took Kai’s arm again, not wanting to slip over on the rain slicked stones. She blinked a droplet away as it landed on her eyelashes and it rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her glove and let Kai lead the way down a small alley way and into a quiet restaurant. 

By the time that they received the bill, Irene was yawning and she fairly certain that it wasn’t because of the two glasses of wine, she could handle her alcohol. The rain had got worse, near to torrential, soaking through their coats and down to their skin.  
“If you started this, I will not be happy.” Irene muttered as they stood underneath an awning. Kai dragged her close to him, arm around her waist. She slipped her arms around him, and rested her head on his shoulder. The streets were practically abandoned in the deluge, everyone had either run out of the rain, or got into cabs and underground trains to avoid getting a soaking.

“I did not.” He promised. “Why would I do that?”  
“An excuse to help me out of soaking wet clothes?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow, if she didn’t say it, he would. He knew that and could only huff when she got there first and look away, trying to attempt at innocence. It did not suit him.  
“So you would say no to the offer of me running you a hot bath and finding a bottle of whiskey that is somewhere in my room?”  
“I didn’t say that much.” She said. “Sadly, we are stuck here until it lightens up or a cab comes past. I am not getting a cold for a glass of whiskey.” 

When a cab did come past, they splashed through puddles to run out to it. Kai gave the driver the address and then boosted Irene up into it. They were practically dripping wet when they got in. Vale just looked at them.  
“Did neither of you to think what the weather was like outside?” He asked.  
“It wasn’t like this earlier.” Irene replied, running a hand through her hair. “It was just cold.” 

“Come on.” Kai said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. “Before you get that cold you mentioned.” He scooped up the book that he had been reading earlier and Irene could not find it in herself to complain (though she would have to see what Vale was doing come morning) when Kai swept her out of the room and managed to mainly keep his hands to himself when she had to get him to help with the buttons of her dress before her bath. 

When she slipped into the bed, she was all warmed up again, laying against him as he wrapped an arm around her, both with books to read, warmed her up even more. She could have been content to lay there for hours, until she got hungry or something demanded that she move. Kai smiled, leaning over to kiss the top of her head.  
“What was that for?” She asked, looking up and frowning at him.  
“Do I need a reason?” He asked.  
“I don’t think you do. But you usually do.” He shrugged and she felt it.  
“Well then my reason is because I wanted to.” He replied. “It isn’t very often I have you all to myself and there is nothing to distract us or demand we get out of bed early. Now that I say that, I know that I have jinxed it and Vale will have a case or something and come pounding on that door at six thirty, or some other intolerable hour.” Irene laughed, he was more superstitious than she was, until it came to black cats, and then he stopped to pet them.

Irene yawned and Kai looked for a bookmark that she could use. She left the book next to her glass of water and shut off the lamp. He slid an arm around her and held her against her chest. Irene laced her fingers with his, eyes half shut. She felt his lips against her shoulder, and seconds later, she was asleep. 

When the dreams crept into Kai’s mind again, his eyes flickered open for a second before sliding shut again, he didn’t have it in him to stay awake. He dreamt of fire. Of arching flames that consumed the darkness of his slumber. He tried to find where they were coming from, walking further and further into the dark, watching it all rage around him, but there was no end, or no start, whichever it was that he was looking for. 

There was nothing but the darkness, and the fire, and him. 

He woke with a jolt, not hard enough to shake Irene, who slept deeply whenever she had the opportunity. He eased his way away from her and sat up, blindly reaching in the dark for his water. He gulped half of it down before sucking in a deep breath and setting it down again and getting out of the bed. He moved slowly, not wanting to disturb Irene. The springs creaked quietly, and Irene made a small, almost snuffling noise in her sleep, and he froze, but she didn’t wake, so he stood up and padded over to the window and he sat down in front of it, cross legged on the floor, and pressed his hands against the cold glass. 

He breathed deeply, wishing he knew how to make sense of the dreams. He wasn’t scared of them. They were not nightmares. They just dreams. No matter how strange he was finding them, they were just dreams.

“Kai?” Irene’s voice was usually slightly raspy when she first woke and she cleared her throat. She had rolled over and the subconscious realisation that he wasn’t there had startled her into awakeness. He gave her a small wave. “Why are you on the floor?”  
“I do not have an answer for that one.” He confessed. “Sorry.” She somewhat awkwardly crawled over to his side of the bed before moving to join him on the floor.  
“Dreams?” He nodded. “Is there anything that I can do?” 

He pulled her against his side.  
“Do you know what it is today?” He asked. Irene frowned, and then shook her head. “It’s the lunar new year.” He said. It was still raining and they couldn’t see the moon through the thick clouds. “We have a massive festical back home for it. Party until it’s three maybe four in the morning. Or until we can’t walk, whichever comes first.” She laughed. “And Irene… Oh the fireworks! They are beautiful. I want to show you sometime, if we ever can, I want to take you one year.”  
“I would like that.” She said, smiling up at him. “One year, when our lives are a little less chaotic.” He kissed the side of her head.  
“I am going to hold you to that.” He said. “Next year if we can. We can even see if we can take the Fae representative if they show up, for the sake of diplomacy or whatever.”  
“Didn’t think you would suggest that, but that may be a good idea.” She said. “And we’ll do something in a Fae world if they want to.”  
“Oh don’t say that, I fully intend on abandoning them to steal you away to somewhere quiet and private.” He said, Irene nearly rolled her eyes, that sounded more like him.

“Less diplomatic, but potentially more enjoyable.” Irene finally admitted.  
“Considerably.” He said. “And I don’t think I have ever seen you wear red. So I have that to look forward to as well.”  
“Red isn’t really my colour.” She replied.  
“You are going to have to let me take you dress shopping.” Kai said, shaking his head. “You’ll need to get clothes appropriate for visiting a royal court.”  
“How long have you been waiting to drag me shopping?”  
“How long have I known you?” She jabbed him in the side and snorted, squirming to get away from her prodding fingers. “Pest.” He grabbed her wrists, holding them away from his body, and leant forward. 

His lips were millimetres away from hers.  
“Would you have me any other way?” He asked, voice low and stroking.  
“No.” She breathed, and closed the small gap. 

Irene wasn’t entirely sure how long they spent in front of the window, his lips against hers, hands holding her tightly to him. She nearly lost her balance at one point, and Kai pressed her to the floor, following her down, letting the curtains fall back into place and cover the window again. 

~

It took them nearly three years before they actually managed to make it to the new years festival, Irene dressed in a ruby red cheongsam that Kai had picked out for her, she wasn’t about to complain, it was beautiful.  
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Kai said, ducking through the crowds that streamed around them, stopping at Irene’s side. He had a couple of red envelopes in one hand, and the other one went around her waist. 

Irene kissed his cheek.  
“You didn’t keep us waiting for long.” She said, fingers brushing against the barely noticeable bump. He kissed her back.  
“Good.” He said. “They’ll probably set the fireworks off soon, want to find somewhere to watch them from? Or are you happy here?”  
“I think I am happy here, now that you are here.” Irene said with a smile. 

“Happy new year.” Kai said as the first set of fireworks burst overhead.  
“Happy new year.” Irene replied. Kai’s fingers strayed to her stomach.  
“It is weird to think that next year, we’ll be a family.” He said. “I honestly cannot wait.”  
“Me neither.”


End file.
